The Latest: Dismissed NFL suit cited in 2 sex abuse defenses

Updated
4:17 pm CDT, Friday, September 13, 2019

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Latest on lawyers for the Catholic Church citing the Louisiana Supreme Court's dismissal of a lawsuit against the NFL in efforts to end lawsuits against the church over sexual abuse (all times local):

4 p.m.

For the second time this week, Catholic Church attorneys fighting sex abuse lawsuits against the church are trying to bolster their cases by citing the Louisiana Supreme Court's recent dismissal of a lawsuit over officiating at an NFL playoff game.

Archdiocese of New Orleans attorneys first made the argument Tuesday in a case involving alleged abuse by a defrocked deacon. They cited the state Supreme Court's Sept. 6 finding that courts have no role in a sports league's enforcement of its own rules. They argued that the same reasoning should apply to religious entities enforcing their rules.

On Friday, they made a similar argument in a separate ongoing lawsuit involving a former priest. In both cases, lower courts have refused to dismiss the suits.

___

1 p.m.

A Louisiana court's dismissal of a lawsuit against the NFL over officiating at the Saints playoff game in January now figures in a lawsuit against Catholic Church officials over alleged sexual abuse.

Lawyers for the Archdiocese of New Orleans are fighting to end a 2018 lawsuit by a man who says he was abused by a former church deacon. Now, they're bolstering their arguments at Louisiana's Supreme Court with that court's recent dismissal of a lawsuit over the blown call that may have cost the Saints a shot at the Super Bowl.

The church's filing notes the Supreme Court's finding that courts have no role in second-guessing a sports league's enforcement of its own rules. Church lawyers say the same reasoning should apply to religious entities enforcing their rules and doctrine.